Alfie Carter – Lone Star Lit

About the book:

Title: Alfie Carter
Author: BJ MAYO
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Pages: 288
Published: January 19th, 2021
Genre: Southern Fiction / Rural Fiction / Mystery
Synopsis: The seemingly never-ending Cabinda War (1975—) has left multitudes dead in its wake and thousands of children homeless and orphaned.

Jackaleena N’denga, a young Angolan girl, has become the sole survivor of one specifically brutal village massacre carried out by a band of guerrilla boy-soldiers.

 

Jackaleena’s resilience leads her to an orphanage on the west coast of Africa, known as Benguela by the Sea, where she and other children are taken in and protected. Her brilliant mind and endless questions capture the heart of her mentor, Margaret, who ensures her that her survival thus far—especially being the survivor from her village—must mean she has big things ahead of her. When the opportunity arises, she must find her purpose.

 

Not without a plan, Jackaleena stows away on a mercy ship that has made its yearly visit to the orphanage and is now preparing to return to America. Her journey takes her across the ocean, into the arms of New York City’s customs officials, and finally into placement in a temporary foster home in Texas.

 

Enter Alfie Carter—a workaholic, small-town detective who is also battling memories of his past. His life is forever changed when he meets a young African girl looking for her higher purpose.

Purchase: Skyhorse Publishing

 

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My Thoughts on Alfie Carter

 The story of Alfie Carter and Jackaleena N’Denga was so much more than the synopsis gives mention too.

   Alfie Carter starts out in a courtroom and comes full circle, in many senses of the word. So that by the end of the story, we are right back in that same courtroom having gleaned so much more understanding into the lives of some remarkable people.

   The story is told in a back-and-forth way between two people’s lives that seem totally disconnected until a light bulb turns on spectacularly towards the end of the book. I believe that BJ Mayo took real-life situations and used them to reflect how God has a unique purpose for each person, we just cannot always see it through the hard times. BJ Mayo used two different points of view for his characters that let you really see the characters through different eyes which I enjoyed, and I thought was well done other than some odd perspective changes (keep in mind I did read an ARC).

  Now, I am not gonna lie to you. The first couple of chapters… wow, not for the faint of heart. BJ Mayo goes into some um… very vivid detail regarding murder, sexual assault, and guerrilla warfare. However, the contrasts BJ Mayo used with that situation helped me to understand why he was so descriptive in the beginning and it ended up being a heartfelt story of learning to reconcile the past, forgiveness, and strength. I learned a lot from this detailed look at the evils in our world and I enjoyed the mystery twist of the story. This book has somewhat of a Christian bent but with all the interesting verbiage choices I would not consider it such. I would say that the genre lines up very well with southern fiction added with a hint of mystery thrown in.

I give Alfie Carter a 3.5 stars rating.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own. 

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BJ Mayo was born in an oil field town in Texas. He spent the first few years of his life living in a company field camp twenty-five miles from the closest town. His career in the energy industry took him to various points in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Louisiana, Bangladesh, Australia, and Angola West Africa. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and have been married for forty-six years with two grown children. They live on a working farm near San Angelo, Texas.

Visit BJ Mayo at his website: https://bjmayo.com/

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

THREE WINNERS each receive an autographed copy of ALFIE CARTER.

US only. Ends midnight, CST, March 5, 2021.

Click Here to Enter The Giveaway!

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